


at duty's end

by Leafdragon117



Series: Final Fantasy Drabbles [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: F/M, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Mentioned Solus zos Galvus | Emet-Selch, Patch 5.3: Reflections in Crystal Spoilers, rewrite of That scene from my WoL's perspective
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-18
Updated: 2020-08-18
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:15:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 749
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25966462
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Leafdragon117/pseuds/Leafdragon117
Summary: At duty's end, Nessa finds it hard not to find familiarity in her enemy, and even harder not to remember.aka a short story as I get my heart ripped out by 5.3
Relationships: 14th Member of the Convocation of Fourteen & Elidibus (Final Fantasy XIV), Elidibus (Final Fantasy XIV)/Original Female Character(s), Elidibus/Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV)
Series: Final Fantasy Drabbles [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1605265
Kudos: 13





	at duty's end

Nessa thought, given everything that had happened, that she would hate Elidibus. He had taken the body of one she held dear to her.

_ “Ophiuchus, come on!” A deep red mask, marked with dual bands of white, pushed the doors of his office open. “You have spent entirely too long in your stuffy old office.”  _

But when it was all over…

All she felt was a deep sense of sorrow. Like she was forgetting something very dear to her. The crystal of Azem pulsed warmly in her grasp, as she offered the other stars to Elidibus, bowed in defeat before her. Their battle had been long and left her with only exhaustion, no sense of triumph from a hard-won battle.

_ “The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day.” A gentle smile curved the lips below the banded mask. “Come, enjoy it with the rest of our friends.” _

_ Ophiuchus felt his lips unconsciously curve up at the sight of Azem, of Eurydice. It did not take much convincing from  _ her  _ to get him out of his office. Obligingly, he stepped out from behind his desk, to Eurydice’s delight. As he passed her at the door, she grasped his hand comfortably; a familiar motion.  _

Distantly Nessa wonders if Elidibus had known Azem, or who they had been. There is a part of her that is afraid of the knowledge that  _ she  _ had been, or was, a shard of a Convocation member. It would be so much easier to deny it. But Emet-selch... _ Hades _ …had been too surprised at her rejoining, the crystal too familiar, and Elidibus...too far.

“Stay strong,” Elidibus spoke, as though he was reciting something someone had said to him. “Keep the faith. At duty’s end, we will meet again. We will. We will.” He repeated the last words to himself, trying to convince himself that they were true.

As if on instinct, or perhaps it was, she felt herself close the distance between herself and the defeated Ascian, who knelt grasping the memories of his  _ their  _ friends. Gloved hands wrapped around Elidibus’ shoulders, offering the only other comfort she could give at the end of his time. 

Elidibus tensed in her grasp for but a moment, before relaxing and almost collapsing the rest of the way against her. 

“For what it’s worth...I’m sorry, Elidibus.” Nessa whispered softly, feeling irrational tears prick at her eyes.

_ “Herein I commit the chronicler of the traveler. Sheperd to the stars in the dark. For yours is the Fourteenth seat, the seat of Azem. Our souls will be scattered, lost and alone, and yours perhaps the worst of all. Should you have need of it, this crystal will serve to tell your tale, to those who will need it.” A pause, as though the speaker hesitated to continue. “And...should you forget who we were to you...who  _ I  _ was to you, I commit this tale in the hope that you may remember.” _

“...Ophiuchus.” Nessa barely caught the whispered word. “That was...my name. What you called me, lifetimes ago. Before everything.”

_ “When I was appointed Azem,” Eurydice started, meeting the gaze of her counterparts steadily, “you gave to me the charge of knowing our star, of knowing the life and souls that inhabit it and guiding them in the dark. And yet you stand before me and present a plan that spits on that duty, on our ideals.” _

_ The Convocation sat silent, though some shifted uncomfortably. _

_ “I hereby renounce the title of Azem,” the masked figure announced coldly, “I cannot keep the title while the Convocation agrees upon sacrificing the very life I and all my predecessors have striven to know.” Eurydice grasped the mask that marked her as Azem and threw it down. It struck the ground in a crack that resounded too loudly in the silent hall, and when they looked to the mask it had cracked across the middle. “And furthermore,” the former Fourteenth, whose face was now bare to the world, continued with eyes that shone with unshed tears and fury, “I cannot condone a plan that sacrifices my beloved.” _

Nessa drew back in shock, catching sight of a genuine smile, tinged in sadness though it was.

“The rains have ceased, and we have been graced with another beautiful day.” Elidibus tilted his head up, up towards the gleaming Crystal Tower that was his downfall, and past it to the clear blue skies. “But you are not here to see it…” 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I post dumb shit on twitter about Nessa and FFXIV over on twitter \o/ 
> 
> https://twitter.com/leafdragon117


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